There is a recent case of a whistleblower coming forward in Minnesota. The state’s childcare program, called CCAP, is allegedly involved in some kind of government fraud. The trouble is that no one really knows what the fraud is or where it’s coming from. There are significant questions about how others have ignored the fraud taking place, while other people want to know how serious this fraud really is.
Some people have suggested that the fraud could be for $100 million or more. It’s even suggested that some of that money might be getting funneled to terrorist cells in other countries. The good news in this situation is that the case has reached court, and answers are being asked for.
The whistleblower steps forward
In this case, one man is a whistleblower who has come forward to stop the fraud from taking place. He was formerly a forensics investigator for the state, and he now claims that the childcare program is not innocent of fraud. The man resigned from the Department of Human Services in March while going on to make another allegation that certain politicians might be preventing a full investigation.
He states that the money from the daycare investigation has to go to politicians at the state and federal level. He claims that he’s been told he can’t accept evidence for the case because the evidence indicates someone who has contributed to a politician’s campaign.
The Department of Human Services internal watchdog has stated that she did find that 16 daycare facilities were closed due to fraud. However, the fraud wouldn’t total the $100 million currently alleged.
Most shockingly in this statewide case is that the DHS has hired an outside group to investigate its own investigators. It’s not clear if this is a standard procedure.
Why is fraud common in daycare centers?
Fraud is most common because of owners, managers and billers being separated. It’s hard to tell who is liable, which means they can each say that they didn’t know fraud was taking place. This plausible deniability is a significant problem in cases, since no one ends up being held responsible.
Fraud is a serious concern in the government. If you know about fraud, it’s important to say so. Whistleblowers are given protection, so that they can tell the state what they know and have their own rights protected as they speak out against fraudulent acts.
